Students! Get Windows 7 Professional for $29.99

From the Too-Good-to-be-True Dept. comes Windows 7 Professional for just 30 bucks. But only for students.
Microsoft

Man, students get all the perks, don't they? Microsoft has been offering an educational discount on Windows 7 since the OS launched last year, but not like this: Students can now get Windows 7 Professional Upgrade Edition for $29.99. (Look in the Other Student Deals box in the corner of the page.)

To put that in a little perspective, the rest of us have to pay $199.99. Sure, you might be able to find it for, oh, $159.99 at Amazon, but 30 bucks? Dang lucky students, grumble, grumble.

To qualify, you need a valid e-mail address from a U.S. educational institution. (You may also need to provide proof of enrollment.) To find out if you're eligible, click Buy Now and enter your school e-mail address. In fairly short order you should receive an e-mail with instructions for making your purchase.

That purchase will come in the form of a download that you'll need to burn to a CD or DVD. However, for another $13 you can order "backup media" (i.e. a DVD that comes in the mail)--probably worth it if you're not adept at burning.

As you'll no doubt notice when you reach the promotion page, Microsoft is also offering students Office Professional Academic 2010 for $79.95. It's identical to Office Professional 2010, which lists for $499. (I'm not saying students should buy this and then flip it on eBay. I would never say that.)

As for Windows 7, keep in mind that this is the upgrade version, you'll have to deploy it on a system that already has XP or Vista installed. However, XP users can't do an "in-place" upgrade, so be prepared to offload your data before getting started. Find out more in How to Upgrade Your XP System to Windows 7.

It was barely a month ago that I purchased a Windows 7 license for $59.95 using my wife's student ID. Now it's half the price. Bad news for me...but good for anyone who hasn't nabbed the OS yet.